Joe South’s timeless tune with a powerful message makes him one of the great one-hit wonders. But he was much more than that. 

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This is the third single I ever bought. I’m not proud of that. It’s a repetitive and dull song but forgive me. I was only 10. (more…)

This rollicking tune by a Scouse comedy trio is the second single I ever bought. I’m pleased to say my musical taste has improved since then (I think). (more…)

Here’s how reggae riddims evolve: nine versions of the same rocksteady riddim, from Roy Shirley to Ken Boothe via Big Youth and I-Roy. (more…)

This was probably the first Jamaican tune I ever heard – I was nine when it came out – and this amazing film, apparently, is the first music video to appear on Top of the Pops.
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The Equals were Britain’s first successful multi-racial pop group, and one of the few mixed-race bands in that era. The chart-topping Baby Come Back was their biggest hit. (more…)

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Alton Ellis sings the original rocksteady version of the song that grew into multiple hits for artists from Althea & Donna to Sean Paul, way back in 1967. (more…)

Another rocksteady classic from Studio One. Dawn Penn was only 15 when she recorded this in 1967 – and in her 40s when it became a UK hit (as No, No, No) in 1994. (more…)

This is one of the signature songs of the Rocksteady era – the brief bridging period in the mid-Sixties between the bouncy urgency of Ska and the laid-back drum’n’bass grooves and conscious lyrics of Reggae. (more…)